1.) Mike Trout: You don't singularly use WAR to determine MVP winners but Mike Trout's WAR (9.3) has a sizable lead over Mr. Cabrera's (7.5). I personally don't care about team performance, so I'm not deducting points from Trout because of the Angels lack of starting rotation, struggling bullpen and awfulness/injury woes from Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols. Although Miggy's definitely superior with the bat, Trout's 179 wRC+ is second in the American League. Trout's also second in BA and OBP, third in SLG, fourth in SBs and leads the league in runs. He plays a solid center field and is one of the best baserunners in the league. He does it differently than Chris Davis, but imagine Davis playing CF and stealing 30 bags a year, that's the year Trout is having.
2.) Miguel Cabrera: A lot of the categories that Trout is second in, is because Miggy is the leader. His 202 wRC+ is far and away the best mark in baseball. Miggy won the triple crown last year and provided he doesn't miss the rest of the season, he will be better in all of the triple crown categories this year. He doesn't play it well, but Miggy plays a premier position and is batting .355/.446/.676. He's guaranteed to win the MVP, both because he gets RBI and because the Tigers have a terrific pitching staff, but I still prefer Mr. Trout, especially if Miggy's injury lingers in September.
3.) Chris Davis: Davis is having a superb year and is the sole reason why Miggy (likely) won't repeat as a triple crown winner. His power (47 HR) and RBIs (130) along with Baltimore's better record will likely place him above Trout in MVP voting but I would say he belongs here. Still, Davis is third in the league in WAR (6.4), third in wRC+ (176) and leads the league in both HRs and RBI for those who love counting stats. Although his strikeout rate (28.8%) is back to his career norms, he's walking more than before (10.8%) and isn't likely a one-trick pony, destined to turn into a pumpkin in 2014. I liken him to Edwin Encarnacion, a power guy with a ton of pedigree that's finally cashed in all the chips.
4.) Robinson Cano: The first three guys are kind of no-brainers and it gets a little trickier here but I'll place Cano fourth. He admittedly isn't having as good of a year as last season but he's still one of the league's best. His 139 wRC+ is tops among second basemen, he's 10th in the AL in WAR, and he's hitting .305/.383/.508 on a team who has had Jayson Nix, Lyle Overbay and Brett Lillibridge on the corners this season.
5.) Evan Longoria/Adrian Beltre: I can't decide between the two.
Longoria: 5.9 WAR, 132 wRC+, 19.5 UZR/150
Beltre: 5.2 WAR, 143 wRC+, 2.6 UZR/150
Longoria's been better with the glove and Beltre has been better with the bat. Beltre has posted UZRs in the double digits the last five years, so I wonder if he's lost a step or if this season is somewhat of a fluke. Either way both Longo and Beltre are among the best hitting and fielding third basement in the game and both rank as the best player on their respective teams. Choosing between the two is difficult, and the better September might win. Of course, in this case winning means finishing behind Miggy/Davis/Trout..
6.) The Best of the Rest: Watching Manny Machado field is outstanding but his 109 wRC+ and (somewhat) slump in the second half takes him out of the top five for me. Josh Donaldson basically does everything well and probably should be listed with Longoria and Beltre above. Ellsbury and Victorino are big reasons why the Sox are in first place, hitting 10-15% better than league average while being brilliant in the field and on the basepaths. Joe Mauer and Dustin Pedroia have both won MVPs and continue to be in the discussion this year and likely in the future, playing so well at positions not normally conducive to hitting like they do.
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